NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



317 



I BIRD SHOOTING. 



I Easton, Pa. March 26. 



I The approach of mild weather has brong;ht 

 »ith it that most charming deligh! of the spa- 

 on, the music and twittering of the smaller 

 irds — but it is no trifling deduction from the 

 lie pleasure it affords, to hear the surrounding- 

 ills reverberate with the reports of guns that 

 ranton insensible persons are aiming at their 

 ves. Prehaps no amusement (if it deserves that 

 ame) is so lame in defence as this. Few are 

 'illing to acknowledge tliemselves hard-hearted 

 r savage enough to be pleased with the dj'ing 

 ang^of a poor beautiful little bird, which can 

 aswer him but a trifling purpose after it is dead; 

 (id as an economical mode of procuring food, it 

 wholly indefensible, for the cost of powder 

 id shot, uspJ by the most expert gunner, (un- 

 !Ss on a chance occasien,) would procure dou- 

 le or treble the weight of good fat mutton or 

 sef, at the butcher's stall, as he can possibly 

 rtaiti in birds — and if their little limbs be a 

 ilicious variation for his palate, yet he must 

 ive an inharmonious soul who can exchange 

 "eir continued heavenly notes for such a mo- 

 I'ntary gratification. The exhibition of skilful 

 icoting, or practising to attain it, is a poor 

 ;ea. Our riflemen in the absence of Indians 

 il bears, content themselves with shooting at 

 .iquare inch of paper, and sleep just as soundly 

 4er«ards as if they had taken a dozen slaps I 

 »^ so might one of your blue tied gunners. 



But the destruction of a robin, chip, blue, or 

 lick bird, is not all; with every individual of 

 j!m the sporting wretch destroys at least a 

 t hel of corn, apples, or other fruit; for in the 

 c jrse of the season, each bird devours as many 

 c erpillars and other insects as would by the 

 t u of the ingathering prevent the earth's pro- 

 t;tion3 to the amount: and no doubt to such 

 Cise is to be attributed the enortBous increase 

 marauding insects whieh the papers from 

 «;ry quarter detail through the summer season : 

 Tiowever, it serves the sufferers right ; they 

 •1 uld prevent it in nature's way.— So extensive 

 ' H ; their destruction been, that the many beauti- 

 * Il summer walks adjoining this town, have been 

 <l)rived of half their sweetness, in the almost 

 hil absence of birds which formerly abound- 

 « and their place occupied by swarms of eater- 

 Jars on the ravaged ragged looking trees. 



-he game laws of England and other places 



U subjects of great scorn in this country; and 



■ haps much cannot be said in defence of the 



'I sons for their adoption that would be agree- 



; ; to republican notions, as it was, undeniably, 



'''■[ reserve that sport for the richer classes; 



>l ugh all may partake by purchasing licenses 



■( specified times — Nevertheless they are at- 



■■'. led with immense advantages to the farmer. 



J smaller birds are abundant, and we do not 



ember ever to have seen an account of ex- 



ive destruction by insects in that country ; 



ivhich add the preservation of their crops 



(1 the wandering feet of wanton gunners, 



the gaiety of their dwellings from the 



ic of the little songsters ; for we would 



ler see ten dozen gunners toiling on •the 



d wheel, than forego this last consideration. 



is urged by the sportsmen that if they do 



others will ! Though this is no excuse to 



1, yet let adjoining farmers unite to prevent 



y perseveringly prosecuting every one who 



« |rs their premises on that ereand. — No one 



has a right to shoot on any land without the 

 owner's leave, and are also fineable for so doing 

 within a considerable distance of any public 

 road. In parts of Bucks County and elsewhere 

 this is done, and the farmers find their accounts 

 bettered by it, — neither do so many accidents 

 happen by leaving loaded guns standing about 

 the house. 



We do not mean to say there may not be 

 proper times for shooting, though it should be 

 confined to a season ; and perhaps hawks, crows, 

 SiC. are lawful prey at any time. 



From the American Farmer. 



ON MILK AND ITS PRESERVATION, 

 With reasons why the portion last drawn from the 

 cow is always the richest. 

 At a late sitting of the Glasgow Philosophical 

 Society a memoir was read by Mr. Maclure, a 

 surgeon, in which he presented a simple but sa- 

 tisfactory explanation of the well known fact 

 that the milk which is obtained towards the 

 conclusion, is much richer than that which the 

 cow yields at the commencement of the milk- 

 ing process. The dairy-maid calls it the strip- 

 pings or afterings. His theory is this : He con- 

 siders milk in the udder of an animal, as being 

 nearly in the same circumstances as milk con- 

 tained in a vessel out of her body altogether. — 

 It is without the pale of the animal's secretion, 

 and nearly in a state of absolute rest. Its com- 

 ponent parts, therefore, will obey the same 

 laws in the one state as in the other. Now the 

 cream, which is the lighter and more oleagi- 

 nous part of milk, ascends to the surface of that 

 which is contained in a vessel, becomes super- 

 natant, and leaves the more watery and heavier 

 portion below. In like manner, because the 

 part called afterings, which resembles cream, is 

 specifically lighter than the more aqueous por- 

 tion of milk in the udder, it ascends to the up- 

 per region of that organ, and consequently is" 

 the last which is expressed during the process 

 of milking. 



The following method is recommended for 

 the preservation of milk, either at sea or in 

 warm climates : — " Provide pint or quart bot- 

 tles, which must be perfectly clean, sweet and 

 dry ; draw the milk from the cow into the bot- 

 tles, and as they are filled, immediately cork 

 them well up. Then spread a little straw on 

 the bottom of the boiler, on which place bottles 

 with straw between them, until the boiler con- 

 tains a sufficient quantity. Fill it up with cold 

 water; heat the water, and as soon as it begins 

 to boil, draw the fire, and let the whole gradu- 

 ally cool. When quite cold, tike out the bot- 

 tles, and pack them with straw or saw dust, in 

 hampers, and stow them in the coolest part of 

 the ship, or in a cool place. Milk preserved in 

 this manner, has been carried to the West In- 

 dies, and back again to Denmark ; and al- 

 though it had been eighteen months in the 

 bottles, it was as sweet as first milked from 

 the cow. 



NEW WHEAT. 

 Extract of a letter from Hon. Jonas Seely, Esq. a 

 member of the Legislature., to a/i agricultural 

 gentleman in this county. 



Albany, 6lh Feb. 1824. 

 " Sir, — In answer to your request on the sub- 

 ject ot a new kind of wheat, lately cultivated 

 in Seneca county, I really oonsider it a great 



acquisition to our country. It resembles in col- 

 or the bearded thorn wheat, the berry rather 

 smaller than the white or red chaflTed wheat, 

 and weighs from G'Z to G 1 lbs. a bushel. I have 

 made experiments, and have given it a fair tri- 

 al on difTerent soils, from clay loam to a black 

 rich soil. It possesses two very important pro- 

 perties which our common wheat does not. It 

 resists frost much better, and is absolutely invul- 

 nerable to the attack of the Hessian fly; this 

 was abundantly proved the last season. On this 

 account alone it is invaluable, as I had fields of 

 common wheat nearly destroyed by the fly, 

 while this new wheat side by side was untouched. 

 The common wheat when not injured by flv or 

 frost will produce some more per acre. The new 

 wheat grows thick on the ground, the color of 

 the straw is lighter and softer and does not grow 

 as tall as common wheat, the heads are shorter 

 but fill well, the chaff is light. The flour is 

 equal to the comraon red berried wheat. I sold 

 70 bushels of it to Col. Mynderse, at the Sene- 

 ca Falls, last December, his miller pronounced 

 it the finest lot of wheat he had purchased since 

 harvest; it was sowed the 17th September, 

 1822. It was first introduced into Seneca coun- 

 ty 5 or six years ago, and is called beaver dam 

 wheat, under an idea it was first brought 

 from a beaver dam near Utica, whereas. Col. 

 Mynderse informed me that it was imported 

 from Spain by Elkanah Watson, Esq. of Albany, 

 Bnd was one of the various samples of wheat he 

 distributed over the country 6 or 7 years ago." 



It is hoped the printers of newspapers 

 throughout the state, will, for a moment, take a 

 breathing spell from the busy strife of politics, 

 and occasionally turn an eye to the best interests 

 of oar country, viz. : agriculture and domestic 

 manufactures. A general communication of the 

 above important information cannot fail to pro- 

 mote the general good. — ibid. 



EFFECTUAL CURE FOR THE BOTTS. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



Sir, — In the American Farmer I have read with 

 interest, several remedies for the botts. It is cer- 

 tainly desireable, if possible to obtain some speci- 

 fic, which may be relied on, to expel those terri- 

 ble insects when actually formed in the stomach, 

 as well as to prevent their formation. As one of 

 your correspondents observes there is no doubt 

 that salt exhibited weekly in the food of horses, 

 would assist as a preventive ; and so will salt pe- 

 tre and assafoetida occasionally administered. — 

 Currying and cleaning the hair of the horse is ne. 

 cessary not only for the good appearance, but al- 

 so for the general health of our favorite animal. 



Of all the remedies I have used and seen used 

 to expel the botts, fish brine is decidedly the most 

 efficacious and sure. I have saved several valua- 

 ble horses, after they were actually stretched on 

 the ground, and apparently in the last agonies. 



Let a quart of salt fish brine be administered 

 at once ; and the dose be repeated in an hour 

 afterwards, unless previously there he symptoms 

 of relief. The medicine will show its effects 

 in copious discharges from the relieved animal, 

 which will be accompanied by quantities of 

 dead botts. He will not only be relieved, but 

 will be improved in his health and condition. It 

 is to be observed, by the by, that all owners of 

 horses would do well to give them occasionally in 

 their food, and sometimes in draught, small quan- 

 tities of fish brine. E. H. CUMMINS. 



